Through the very threads that have caused my death;
When she finds, at length, she has nerves so firm
As to wear the shroud of a crawling worm,
May she bear in mind, that she walks with pride
In the winding-sheet where the silk-worm died!”
Plate III
Silk-Worm, Cocoons, Chrysalis, Moths and Pinna.
CHAPTER VIII.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHINESE MODE OF REARING SILK-WORMS, &c.
Great antiquity of the silk-manufacture in China—Time and mode of pruning the Mulberry-tree—Not allowed to exceed a certain height—Mode of planting—Situation of rearing-rooms, and their construction—Effect of noise on the silk-worm—Precautions observed in preserving cleanliness—Isan-mon, mother of the worms—Manner of feeding—Space allotted to the worms—Destruction of the Chrysalides—Great skill of the Chinese in weaving—American writers on the Mulberry-tree—Silk-worms sometimes reared on trees—(M. Marteloy’s experiments in 1764, in rearing silk-worms on trees in France)—Produce inferior to that of worms reared in houses—Mode of delaying the hatching of the eggs—Method of hatching—Necessity for preventing damp—Number of meals—Mode of stimulating the appetite of the worms—Effect of this upon the quantity of silk produced—Darkness injurious to the silk-worm—Its effect on the Mulberry-leaves—Mode of preparing the cocoons for the reeling process—Wild silk-worms of India—Mode of hatching, &c.—(Observations on the cultivation of silk by Dr. Stebbins—Dr. Bowring’s admirable illustration of the mutual dependence of the arts upon each other.)